Hearts cite 'distance' issue as they challenge contentious decisions against Celtic

Hearts raised questions over key penalty decisions following their 2-0 defeat by Celtic in Glasgow as referee Colin Steven came under scrutiny. The Edinburgh club were unhappy that the match official awarded the hosts a second-half penalty for James Penrice handling inside the box having ruled that a handball offence by Celtic’s Liam Scales in the first half did not merit a spot-kick.

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Arne Engels scored Celtic’s penalty on his first start to put the hosts ahead before fellow new signing Luke McCowan struck near full-time to secure a 2-0 victory. That maintained Celtic’s 100 per cent start to season 2024/25, leaving Hearts bottom of the Premiership table after five fixtures.

The Tynecastle head coach Steven Naismith explained his view on the disputed penalty incidents. Lawrence Shankland’s header from Penrice’s corner in the first half clearly struck Scales on the arm and the referee quickly pointed to the spot. After a VAR review and touchline monitor visit, he rescinded the award as Hearts protested. After the interval, Nicholas Kuhn’s cross from close range hit Penrice’s arm and Steven - after again using the monitor - awarded Celtic a penalty.

READ MORE: Report and ratings from Celtic v Hearts

“I thought it was a tight game,” said Naismith. “Listen, you’re playing against the best team in the country, there's moments you need to be defensively sound. I thought in the first half we were. You need to accept that at times you need to sit low and frustrate them. I thought we had done that. In the first half we probably weren't as good in possession as we have been in the past here and in other games.

“I don't think our penalty is a penalty in the guidelines in terms of the distance between the players. But I also don't think theirs is a penalty. It’s down to opinion. With the images we were shown before the season, it's all down to distance. It hits his arm, but for me there's nothing he [Penrice] can do. The motion is the one that we were shown in pre-season. So I disagree with that and that's a big moment in the game.

“We probably were a wee bit better in possession in the second half. We believed a bit more and the crowd were getting frustrated. But when that goal goes in it then changes it. And then the second goal comes when we open the game up a bit and there's a bit more space. 

“What the interpretation has been is that there are times the ball hits somebody's hand and there's nothing they can do. We accept that. I just feel that both of them are in the same ballpark. I don't think the distance between James and the ball is great enough that he can get his hand out the way.

“But for me there were positives: The way we defended, the attitude of the players, the discipline of the players. And we do come away actually having had a couple of good chances, especially in the second half when it was 1-0. Musa Drammeh has an opportunity that, if that goes in the dynamic of the game changes.”

Asked if Hearts received an explanation for any of the penalty decisions, Naismith replied: “No. I've not even asked, to be honest.”

The defeat was Hearts’ seventh in a row and leaves them without a win from eight competitive fixtures this season. “The way things are, I think everything that could go wrong or any mistake that's made by us is getting punished at the moment,” said Naismith. “But I think there are positives - the discipline, the way we worked and the way defensively we understood when to press, when not to press. And the chances that we ended up creating, there were a couple of good ones in there. So that's the positives.

“We've now got a month of games before the international break and we need to win games. From what I've seen today, I think we'll start picking up points. I'm not going to rely on fortune. We'll work as hard as we do all the time. I genuinely believe in a lot of the games this season, it has been small details, maybe an individual error or something going against us, that's cost us. We need to have more of a threat going forward in the games that we have more of the possession, but we've worked on that over the international break and I expect us to have that next week.”

The run of defeats has impacted Hearts’ confidence, although Naismith stressed that is part of life at a big club. “I think that, individually, there will be players that are inevitably involved in some of the incidents that we've lost games in, that their confidence will go.

“To be at a club like Hearts, you need to deal with that and accept it and work out how to turn that. I've said again during the week with any player and any advice I give, it's not one conversation and suddenly you're the best player and you play the best football you ever have. You need to have that mental toughness to work it out: ‘I am maybe not doing this great at the moment, but the other areas in my game I'm going to make sure I'm on point.’ Then you grind through it.

“We've got a young squad, but I've seen enough positives through this season to know that that we will come strong. We've got good quality and the biggest area for me that we've had to get better in is that final third, and I expect us to have that.”

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers admitted a degree of sympathy for Naismith and Hearts’ predicament regarding the penalty incidents. Ultimately, he backed the referee. “It's hard for Steven because you look at that there: He knows the first goal is so important in the game and, if it goes to them, they've got something to hang on to. If it goes to us, then the climate of the game totally changes,” said Rodgers.

“I think when you look at it, I think the rules are pretty clear. I think both were grappling, ball comes over and ball comes down onto his sleeve, shoulder. So, I think in everyone's book, that's not a penalty. But you want it. You want it, so I can understand that.

“And then likewise, the law tells you if you're out of what would be the silhouette of your body and your arms are up when it hits you, then that is a penalty. And that's how it worked out. But there's always a feeling if you don't get it and the other team gets one, it's a bit harsh. But I thought the referee and the officials did really well in those two moments.”